Another Place, Another Time
by L122yTorch
Summary: A desolate James T. Kirk of the past, a captain who has lost his commander, gets a miracle encounter with Spock. It isn't the Spock he knows…but it's still Spock…his Spock.
1. Chapter 1

Tears gathered at the corners of Kirk's eyes. The notch in his throat bobbed up and down as he let out a gasp that was clawing at his lungs.

His eyebrows knitted together and he bit his lip, hoping that the pain would help him hold back the tears, but they fell anyway.

He took a step towards Spock, and then another. His eyes were wide in disbelief.

But they weren't the bright blue eyes that Spock was familiar with. They were hazel.

The word "Spock" formed in Jim's heart, but couldn't make it out past his lips. Instead it hung there, a burning lump in his throat.

He reached out a tentative hand and brushed his fingertips gently against Spock's jacket. When his nerves connected to his brain and he realized that this was real, he drew his hand back to himself.

Spock wanted to say something, he wanted to explain himself…but the look on Jim's face made his brain short circuit. It was a risk to experiment with dimensional travel, with time travel, and he was paying the price.

Jim's tears shimmered like diamonds for just a moment, before they fell to the ground. He couldn't keep calm any longer. He felt the strings that tied him together snap apart, one by one, as he looked at Spock, studied his face, remembered everything they'd gone through.

This Spock was different…he looked different…but his heart knew that it was Spock.

"T'hy'la," Kirk said in a broken whisper, tears now streaming down his face.

His expression was a mix of twisted pain, disbelief and just a hint of hope. He'd stood across from his old friend for five solid minutes before he began to crumble.

Once the words came out, Spock's lips parted, an expression of thinly veiled shock flitted across his features. He took a step forward.

"What did you just say?" Spock asked.

Jim smiled, a warm, radiant, wholly engulfing smile, that never changed, no matter what dimension he occupied, no matter what timeline this was.

"T'hy'la," Jim repeated, bringing a hand to Spock's face. His thumb gently skated over the flesh beneath it. "You died," he said in a whimper. "I watched you die."

The emotions running through Jim, seeping into the skin to skin contact, overwhelmed Spock's shields. He allowed himself to feel, and almost immediately regretted doing so.

He felt such a depth of despair, so dark and naked, exposed and expansive as space itself. But inside of it, a ball of hope glimmered, and around that hope such a radiance of love exploded, unfurled, and it shook the Vulcan to his core.

Jim should say something, should articulate that he knows this isn't his Spock, he should be fascinated at the possibility of alternate timelines or time travel, or whatever this was. But all he could see, all he could feel, all he wanted was Spock.

He came closer, just a breath width's away from Spock's lips. He shouldn't. He knew he shouldn't. But he did.

He tilted his face and leaned into Spock, letting his lips gently brush over the Vulcan's - once - twice - three times, and then he was pressing frantically into those lips, parting them with his tongue. His tear stained face slid against Spock's cool cheek.

His tongue explored this new but familiar mouth. He drug a deep breath in and let his hands roam over the contours of Spock's body. He nipped at Spock's bottom lip and slid his tongue against the commander's. He couldn't breathe - he didn't care.

And Spock - this Spock - allowed this romantic assault.

He even kissed Kirk back.

When Spock began to respond, to explore Kirk's mouth, the Captain thought he might die. Whether from shock or happiness, it didn't matter. Because in this moment, his Spock was dead, but another existed. And just knowing that…that Spock lived on, that he had this moment to say goodbye… it was all he could ask for.

It must have been the lack of oxygen. Jim's knees buckled just a bit and he allowed himself to break the kiss and pour his weight into Spock's arms. He cried into the shoulder of his lost friend, grasping fistfuls of Spock's jacket and hair and shaking while he sobbed.

"I love you Spock," he said into the fabric. "I love you, and I needed to tell you. I should have told you sooner," his voice cracked.

Spock held the man, let him cry, let him utter these things that rocked his core, and tried his damnedest not to fall apart at hearing the words being whispered into his neck.

"I know that you're not mine," Jim said, finally breaking away. "I know that you're not my Spock. And I'm sorry," his head shook back and forth. "I'm so sorry if I'm screwing up some cosmic law, if I'm breaking some timeline rule, but seeing you…here…" his voice wavered. "I couldn't help it Spock."

The Vulcan nodded, as if he understood. His emotions threatened to bubble over the surface, his head felt funny, and he took a deep breath. If ever there was a time he needed to meditate, this would be it.

"Why are you here?" Jim ventured. "Is it to warn me about something? To get information about something. Or was it just an accident?"

Spock gulped and cleared his throat.

"It was an accident."

Kirk nodded slowly, solemnly.

"Is it time travel or a parallel universe?"

"Both, I believe."

Jim took deep breaths, tried to steady himself.

"Whatever it is, I'm glad it happened," Jim said.

"I never got to say…the things I needed to say to my Spock. And saying them to you…well, it doesn't fill the hole that's inside me, but it makes it hurt a little less."

Spock had a thousand questions, he wanted to know everything. How he had died in this universe, what his relationship was with the Captain, how their current mission would turn out - or if it even happened. Was Vulcan still in tact?

But he knew he could not ask these things. It could change the course of history, the course of his life, or the course of his mission.

So instead he stared into Jim's understanding eyes. The Captain knew that Spock was processing, he knew how desperately Spock wished his questions could be answered. But asking those questions was not an option.

Jim put a hand on Spock's shoulder and squeezed. "What a euphoric moment and a devastating realization," he said.

"Captain?"

"Finding you, seeing you, holding you, and then knowing…knowing that I have to let you go all over again."

The words slammed into Spock's chest, pulling and twisting at something he didn't know existed before this moment.

The pain in this Jim's eyes was similar to that in his own counterpart's eyes - Spock Prime - whenever the Vulcan would discuss his Jim. Something he seldom did.

"You should get back," Jim said, forcing the words out. "Your captain is probably wondering where you are," he smiled briefly.

Spock nodded, his mouth was dry and his feet felt heavy.

"Just know Spock…that we are a universal constant. I always have been, and always shall be your friend, your T'hy'la," he whispered the last two words.

Spock wasn't sure why exactly, but he felt compelled to lurch forward. He observed the slopes of this Kirk's face, the way his eyes could change in the light, the caramel color of his hair, the way he smelled and moved. And he kissed him. He kissed his captain from another time and place.

He melted into the hot lips he met and allowed the longing Jim felt to bleed into his mind. What he felt in that moment was unmatched. He had never experienced this feeling before and it called into question everything he thought he knew.

Finally they parted, Jim's hand on his head at the meld point - as if it was an automatic reflex. Then his hand fell.

"I will always love you," James Kirk said. "If I die, if you die, if we die…it doesn't matter," he added. "We will always find a way back to each other, even if its not in this life."

Jim's hand caressed Spock's face. "Goodbye my friend."

"Goodbye Captain," Spock said, tears gathering in his own eyes as he watched this stranger, this other half of his soul, turn around, pick up a bag and begin to walk away from him.

He knew what he needed to do to get back, he should get back, but he didn't dare move until Jim Kirk's form became so distant that it disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

Once Jim was out of sight, Spock had to begin figuring out how he would return to his own time & timeline.

One minute he was in an explorer ship being sucked into a vortex in space, and the next he was landing his simple craft on the surface of this terran-like planet. The odds that he would encounter Jim Kirk in this time/timeline were astronomical. Practically impossible. Yet he did.

With the tools he needed, Spock headed back to the craft and attempted to repair damage that occurred in the vortex.

He wanted to get the fixes done as soon as possible because he feared that the hole he slipped through in space would close, move, or disappear altogether.

As his fingers worked the metal between his fingers, Spock fought the urge to over-analyze the encounter he had just experienced. Truth is, it had his mind reeling. The implication that he was Jim's T'hy'la in this universe…it changed how he saw his own Jim.

But there was no time to think. The light was dimming in the purplish sky and Spock was running out of time. Although the repairs weren't perfect, they would have to do.

He climbed inside the explorer craft and plopped himself into the pilot's seat. Much to his relief, the thing rumbled to life as he flipped a handful of switches. There was no communicating with his own Enterprise, so he would have to find the vortex all on his own.

What if he couldn't find it? What if he was forever displaced, leaving his own captain to wonder what happened to him? As alarming as those thoughts were, Spock imagined this Jim's face, the way his lips moved against his own, and thought (just fleetingly) that it may not be so bad to remain here. But it wasn't where he belonged.

A whirlwind of dust, dirt and sand swirled around the spaceship as it lifted off the surface of the planet. From above, the landscape seemed tranquil. Blue-green foliage sprawled across the sphere beneath, only interrupted by sparkling aqua lakes and strategically placed buildings.

But the sightseeing quickly ended as he ascended into the cold dark atmosphere. Soon the familiar expanse of space engulfed his craft.

Armed with nothing but this ship, a few educated guesses and some mathematical calculations, Spock began the search for the vortex.

But the tunnel through space and time had seemingly moved.

Spock spent hours upon hours scanning the quadrant, scouring the darkness, but the door back to his life couldn't be found.

The fuel warning light blinked to life and let out a continuous whine. Although Spock's repairs were successful, the ship couldn't handle roaming out in space for 15 hours with the level of damage it had sustained.

Spock could either make an attempt to return to the planet's surface, or he could follow his last lead. A magnetic anomaly indicated that he might be getting close to the vortex, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary.

At this point, there was a good probability that he would die in space, searching for the vortex. But he had to return to his own time.

When the oxygen warning light came on, Spock began to consider his life, his choices. A human in this situation might begin to panic, but he remained calm and reflective. Perhaps he should have returned to the planet's surface instead of continuing into space, but it was too late now.

The cabin of the ship seemed smaller somehow, the blinking red lights and crying alarms filled the dim space. In the distance Spock thought he could see something unusual, but with the lack of oxygen, his mind could very well be playing games with him.

Spock's vision began to blur, he blinked multiple times, but it didn't return the vision to normal. Even his lungs began to ache. So he closed his eyes and took even breaths, relaxing his body until it was in a meditative state.

"SPOCK! HEY, WAKE UP DAMMIT!" McCoy shouted at the Vulcan, even slightly relishing the opportunity to slap him, but the commander did not stir.

"SICKBAY NOW!" he yelled at the men already hauling Spock up onto the stretcher.

Jim flew around the corner into the room so fast that he nearly knocked one of the nurses to the ground. "We get him?" he asked, out of breath.

"Yeah, we got him," Bones said, "but he's been deprived of oxygen. He's in a meditative state I think."

"Will he be okay?" Jim queried as the team trotted down the hallway.

"I think so," Bones said. "Look Jim, get back to the chair and get our ship away from that vortex thing, I'll take care of Spock, I promise." The doors slid open and the medical group disappeared.

Jim wanted to follow them inside. The sight of Spock, pale and on oxygen was jarring. He had been gone for three days, and Kirk thought that he would go out of his mind if they didn't find him.

God he felt so guilty. They hadn't been successful in finding Spock, Spock had found them. But there was nothing Jim could have done differently. He couldn't risk taking his whole damn ship into the vortex that they had just discovered today; the very vortex that just spit Spock and his ship out.

As soon as the explorer craft lit up on the screen, they immediately beamed Spock aboard and held the ship in tow.

He turned to the wall comm and gave Sulu the order to get the ship away from the hole in space before it swallowed them…although it did provide a fascinating window into the possibilities of space travel.

"Fascinating," Jim smiled to himself as he murmured the word that Spock so often said. Thank God they got him back. Thank God.

Jim tried to quell his fears as he made his way back to the bridge. He'd rather face a hoard of angry Klingon's than re-experience the last three days. There was no sleep, no peace, as he lay awake at night wondering if he'd ever see his commander again.


End file.
